We couldn’t wait for Steve Yzerman any longer. This Detroit Red Wings podcast breaks down the 2025-26 season in review as Hockeytown misses the playoffs yet again. Full season analysis, grades for every forward, defenseman, & goalie, & reviews on McLellan, Yzerman, & what went wrong.
(0:00) Intro
Jim Rutherford’s wild presser throwing Patrik Allvin under the bus and why he should hold a press conference every morning.
(5:35) Season in Review Intro & DeBrincat and Raymond
Setting the table for the annual grading episode – forwards, defense, goalies, coaching, and special teams. Alex DeBrincat’s 41 goal season to lead the Red Wings forwards. Plus, the Lucas Raymond shoulder injury that quietly defined his 76-point season.
(17:05) Dylan Larkin’s Complicated Season
Larkin’s 34 goal campaign, the non-contact knee injury after Olympic gold, and the five-on-five drought that hurt Detroit most.
(26:20) Kane, Copp, and Finnie
Patrick Kane defeating Father Time next to DeBrincat. Andrew Copp’s finishing issues as the emergency 2C, and Emmitt Finnie earning a full 82 as a seventh-round rookie.
(46:45) Kasper’s Sophomore Slump
Marco Kasper’s “lost golf swing”, what it means for the second-line center hole, and whether the offensive ceiling is a real concern.
(51:30) JVR, Compher, Appleton, Rasmussen
The “jersey” problem – who should be back, who shouldn’t, & why J.T. Compher’s contract is the most frustrating watch on the roster.
(1:10:05) Defense Breakdown
Moritz Seider’s Norris-worthy season & Simon Edvinsson’s RFA extension looming. Axel Sandin Pellikka’s rookie year, how the Justin Faulk trade panned out on ice. Plus, the Hamonic/Holl/Gustafsson mess.
(1:32:00) Goaltending and Team Grade
John Gibson’s nuclear December, Cam Talbot’s rough year, what Sebastian Cossa’s runway is like, and a D for Disappointment across the board.
(1:44:45) NHL News and Notes
Draft lottery odds on the St. Louis pick, John Leonard’s extension, and takeaways from player exit interviews before Steve Yzerman speaks.
(1:49:20) Overtime: Patron Questions
Cossa vs. Trey Augustine in a hypothetical trade, Kasper vs. Nate Danielson, and who we’re rooting for in the playoffs.
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34 Comments
First! 20 seconds lol
I really hope Kasper finds his game because his rookie year, I definitely saw him as someone who could put up 40 to 50 points a year easily at minimum.
Rebuild the rebuild, please
fire yzerclown
6:15 BOOOO
At the end of the day, 67 points out of your 1C leaves something to be desired.
His 5on5 scoring needs fixing though
Die hard Wings fan here.
Who the hell is Patrik Allvin?
Asking for a friend.
Debrincat plays 82 every season boys! Never missed a game at that size, insane.
MBN had 2x as many hits as JT Compher. 14 games vs all 82.
Michael Rasmussen 6'6" plays like he's 4'6" with the physical energy of Stephen Hawking and the mental capacity of Forrest Gump
If Copp had finishing scoring ability, Debrincat and Kane are looking at another 10 points minimum each at least which is massive, Wings need some upgrades
LMAO JT COMPHER 22 HITS GET OFF MY TEAM AND NEVER COME BACK TO DETROIT
Heavily disliked the Faulk trade at the time. This team did not deserve trade away futures.
it's not that Larkin sucks. Of course he doesn't. He's a great hockey player, but we need a new look and different energy in the locker room. Sometimes change is just needed and it is what it is.
No hate to faulk. I just cant understand yzermas logic. He baulked on basically the identical trade package at the draft last summer for k'andre Miller. Miller is nearly 10 years younger and came with an 8 year extension. Instead of adding another young foundational core piece. He gave all that away, for a year and some change for a 34 year old faulk. Seems like a huge lack of forward thinking and a panic trade at the deadline because his team out performed his lowly expectations. More piss poor asset management
Larkin is an embarrassment to the city of Detroit
5 points 5v5 in 4 months. I understand the bottom six was atrocious, but this team won’t go anywhere with a 1C who can’t produce 5v5 and is solely a power play merchant.
I'd suggest the Wings watch the playoffs and honestly measure up the Wings as compared to the teams who perform and ultimately win the Cup.
And I'm waiting for Yzerman's press conference. It should be a doosie!
3 coaches, whole new roster team still doesn't start on time only constant is larks… no clue how you fix it
It's amazing how frequent I heard "It's not necessarily the player's fault. It's a roster construction issue".
I think what you're trying to say is you want Dylan Larkin to show as much pride in wearing the winged wheel as he did wearing the stars and stripes.
It’s an awful look for your captain’s best hockey to come for a team he’s not captain of.
When do the injury reports come out? Really interested to know how injured Raymond was. As well as Larkin.
detroit stuck in the lower level of nhl. need a top tier player but drafting swedes was a mistake.
Why?
Kasper's underlyings were very good. The cold streak of Kane and Cat to start the year really destroyed his confidence this year. We talk about how awful Kasper was this year when he received zero PP time and was barely outscored by Larkin at 5v5. Thats a helluva double standard
If you live in the Detroit metro area you need to be pushing your local leaders to outlaw jt compher from entering the city ever again.
About Chiarot availabillity, he echoed what's been a major issue for several years now and the most OBVIOUS reason why Detroit fall appart in March every year when things get tighter = it just get more into physical playoff hockey, which this team aint built for.
So J.T Compher had 22 hits over 82 games! Söderblom had more in his first 5 games after the trade deadline for Pittsburgh. But Elmer was "soft" strictly because he is a euro player, right? We essentielly replaced Elmer (we trades him to Pittsburgh simple because we needed another 3rd round pick after the trade for…) Perron, who effectively hurt this team with -10, 18PiM and just 3 points in 16 games… Maybe we should STOP trading AWAY young size and physicallity, instead of collecting 30+ year old "jerseys" doing cardio every game… Say what you want about Söderblom's production in Detroit, point stands when he ACTUALLY got a legit chance (playing 15+ mins a game on a 3rd line) he showed what this team obviously where not valueing with playing 8 mins a night on a 4th line with the ultimate cardio north american players in Compher & Rasmussen (8 PiM the whole season compared to Edvinsson 75 as the team leader in fights and physicallity).
But yeah, euro players are to "soft" is all im hearing, maybe look at the REAL issue on this team, it sure isn’t the euros not giving the real effort (Kasper lead the team in hits & should be the guy to keep around between him and Nate Danielson, who just had 3 hits in 18 games…) game in, game out.
The poorly constructed roster where Larkin and Raymond have to defend themselves and take cheap shots all season long without any protection is an Yzerman problem.. Maybe with some protection you will see healthier players at the end of the season.
Did anybody see Alex Tuch bury a Bruins player and the hit led directly to a goal?
That what Detroit needs and has needed for a long time now. When was the last time you saw a Red Wing bury a guy along the boards that led to a goal?
I'll wait.
Give Tuch what he wants AND bonuses and get him in he lineup, even if you have to knock out Terry Pegula during their negotiations and paper sacking the guy over the head and holding him hostage until he signs.
WE NEED TUCH.
I would be packaging Cossa with a top pick for a 40+ goal scoring winger. Postava can be our backup.
Evan, let’s not worry about Kane’s physical play until we make the playoffs. And we might not even get there until after he retires lol
Anyone who thinks the playoff window for this team revolves around Larkin and Debrincat needs to look at the players drafted between Larkin and Yzerman taking over. Between 2015 and 2019, the only impact player drafted by this organization was Filip Hronek. Four drafts between Larkin and Seider, and not a single impact player to show for. The issues with this team have almost nothing to do with Larkin or Yzerman and everything to do with the worst possible start to a rebuild you could imagine.
I think I'd trade Raymond and any 2 of Detroits top 'prospects' for Slavofsky from Montreal, and Montreal would say no. Sad scenes/future!